Editing Seven Days in May (section)

==Background==
The book was written in late 1961 and into early 1962 during the first year of the [[Kennedy administration]], reflecting some of the events of that era. In November 1961, President [[John F. Kennedy]] accepted the resignation of vociferously [[anti-communist]] general [[Edwin Walker]], who had been indoctrinating the troops under his command with radical [[right-wing]] ideas and personal political opinions, including describing [[Harry S. Truman]], [[Dean Acheson]], [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], and other active public figures as communist sympathizers.<ref>[http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938238,00.html "Armed Forces: I Must Be Free..." (''Time Magazine'', November 10, 1961)]</ref> Although no longer in uniform, Walker continued to make headlines as he ran for [[governor of Texas]] and made speeches promoting strongly right-wing views. In the film version of ''Seven Days in May'', [[Fredric March]], portraying the narrative's fictional president Jordan Lyman, mentions General Walker as one of the "false prophets" who were offering themselves to the public as leaders.

As [[Fletcher Knebel]] and [[Charles W. Bailey II]], primarily political journalists and columnists, collaborated on the novel, they also conducted interviews with another highly controversial military commander, the newly appointed [[Air Force chief of staff]] [[General Curtis LeMay]], who was angry with Kennedy for refusing to provide air support for the Cuban rebels in the [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]].<ref>[http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/seven-days-in-may-remembrance-of-books-past Stoddard, Brooke C. "Seven Days in May: Remembrance of Books Past" (''Washington Independent Review of Books'', November 27, 2012)]</ref><ref>[http://independenthead.blogspot.com/2013/10/seven-days-in-may-by-knebel-and-bailey.html Steed, Mark S. "Seven Days in May by Knebel and Bailey - Book Review" (''An Independent Head'', October 26, 2013)]</ref> The character of General James Mattoon Scott was believed to have been inspired by both LeMay and Walker.<ref name="Cineaste Quart">{{cite journal |last1=Quart |first1=Leonard |title=Seven Days in May (Web Exclusive) |journal=Cineaste |volume=XLII |issue=4 |url=https://www.cineaste.com/fall2017/seven-days-in-may |access-date=December 26, 2024}}</ref>

President Kennedy had read the novel [[Seven Days in May (novel)|''Seven Days in May'']] shortly after its publication and believed that the scenario could actually occur in the United States. According to director [[John Frankenheimer]], the project received encouragement and assistance from Kennedy through [[White House press secretary]] [[Pierre Salinger]], who conveyed to Frankenheimer Kennedy's wish that the film be produced. In spite of [[United States Department of Defense|Defense Department]] opposition, Kennedy arranged to visit the [[Kennedy Compound]] in [[Hyannis Port]] for a weekend when the film needed to shoot outside the [[White House]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/13/books/jfks-last-hundred-days-by-thurston-clarke.html?pagewanted=all Kakutani, Michiko. ''Kennedy, and What Might Have Been: 'JFK's Last Hundred Days' by Thurston Clarke'', page 95 (''The New York Times'', August 12, 2013)]</ref>